GWBCC & The Connect
GWBCC & The Connect
Introducing The Connect - our newsletter in collaboration with partner The Washington Informer
Dear GWBCC Members and Partners,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Connect, produced in collaboration with our valued media partner, The Washington Informer. This publication is more than a newsletter — it is a platform for alignment, access, and acceleration across the Black business ecosystem in the Greater Washington region and beyond.
As we enter 2026, the Greater Washington DC Black Chamber of Commerce stands at a defining moment. Our mandate is clear: position Black-owned businesses to scale competitively, build generational wealth, and participate fully in regional and global markets. The question is not whether opportunity exists — it is whether we are structurally aligned to capture it. This year, our programming, partnerships, and policy agenda are intentionally designed to ensure the answer is yes.
At GWBCC, we operate from a simple but powerful principle: Business is personal — and we are in the business of making your business personal. We understand that behind every enterprise is a founder, a family, a vision, and a legacy in motion. We care deeply about the success of each member and about the collective growth of our region. When one business scales, it strengthens supply chains, creates jobs, and expands opportunity for the entire ecosystem. That is the lens through which we approach every initiative.
Scaling Leadership Through Cohorts and Executive Development
The President’s Circle enters its second year as one of our flagship executive development initiatives. Built in partnership with M&T Bank and Foley & Lardner LLP and facilitated by MBA Growth Partners, the President’s Circle equips high-performing founders with financial strategy, legal insight, performance metrics, and peer accountability structures that move businesses from sustainability to scalable growth.
Complementing this work are our executive mixers, curated industry roundtables, and strategic convenings — intentionally designed to foster trusted relationships where capital, contracts, and collaboration flow with purpose.
Expanding International Pathways
In 2026, GWBCC will deepen its global engagement strategy. Following our historic trade mission to Morocco and Ghana, we are formalizing bilateral partnerships that create structured market-entry pathways for our members while positioning Washington, DC as a gateway for international firms seeking U.S. expansion.
Our international portfolio includes:
Outbound trade missions and inbound delegations
Cross-border SME matchmaking
Diaspora business engagement
Export readiness and foreign direct investment alignment
Global opportunity is no longer aspirational — it is operational. Our members are thinking beyond geographic boundaries, and the Chamber is building the infrastructure to support sustainable international growth.
Technology and Innovation Ecosystems
Technology continues to redefine competitiveness. Through our Tech Committee, innovation forums, and strategic partnerships, GWBCC is creating pathways into fintech, health tech, cybersecurity, AI-enabled services, and digital transformation.
We are committed to ensuring Black-owned firms are not only consumers of innovation — but builders, investors, and policy influencers within the technology economy. Access to accelerators, procurement pipelines, and capital networks remains central to this strategy.
Policy Advocacy and Economic Positioning
Economic inclusion requires policy alignment. In 2026, GWBCC will continue to engage local, regional, and federal stakeholders to advocate for equitable procurement, capital access frameworks, and workforce investments that reflect the realities facing Black-owned enterprises.
Through policy roundtables and direct engagement with decision-makers, we ensure that our members are not passive observers of economic policy — but informed participants shaping the environment in which they operate.
Workforce Development and Apprenticeship Innovation
Workforce strategy is economic strategy. Through partnerships with regional agencies, employers, and training institutions, we are advancing apprenticeship models, industry-aligned pipelines, and employer-driven workforce solutions that support both business growth and upward mobility.
Our focus is not only on job creation, but on creating durable pathways to ownership, leadership, and economic resilience.
The Creative Economy and Cultural Capital
The creative economy — spanning media, design, arts, hospitality, and cultural entrepreneurship — remains a powerful growth sector in the DMV. GWBCC is investing in convenings and cross-sector collaborations that elevate creatives as business leaders and economic drivers.
We recognize that culture is capital. When properly structured, the creative sector becomes a vehicle for innovation, tourism, and community-based economic development.
Regional Collaboration and Collective Impact
We understand that collective progress requires coordinated effort. In 2026, GWBCC will continue to collaborate with fellow chambers, economic development partners, and regional stakeholders to strengthen alignment, expand opportunity, and amplify shared influence.
Our commitment is to regional prosperity — not siloed success. We believe deeply that the economic vitality of Greater Washington is strengthened when Black-owned businesses are competitive, connected, and capitalized.
As we launch The Connect, we do so with clarity and conviction. We are not simply hosting events — we are building infrastructure. We are not just convening leaders — we are cultivating scale. We are not reacting to opportunity — we are engineering it.
Business is personal. Your growth matters to us. Your challenges matter to us. Your expansion matters to us. And together, our collective growth strengthens this region in measurable and meaningful ways.
I invite you to engage fully this year — join a cohort, attend a trade mission, participate in a policy forum, and lean into the relationships that will define your next level of growth.
Together, we will scale boldly, collaborate intentionally, and ensure that opportunity in 2026 is not simply available — but accessible.
With purpose and partnership,
Aisha Bond, Esq.
President & CEO
Greater Washington DC Black Chamber of Commerce